The image above is an illustrated logarithmic scale conception of the observable Universe with the Solar System at the center. Encircling the Solar System are the inner and outer planets, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, Alpha Centauri star, Perseus Arm, Milky Way galaxy, Andromeda galaxy, other nearby galaxies, the cosmic web, cosmic microwave radiation, and invisible plasma. The image is based on logarithmic maps of the Universe put together by Princeton University researchers, as well as images produced by NASA based on observations made by their telescopes and roving spacecraft.
I've run about 50,000 miles in my lifetime, with about 15,000 of those miles occurring when I was in my 40's. I'll be 53 years of age in a couple of months and as I was looking at this image of the entire Universe (as we know it currently), I was struck by the fact that I really haven't run very far at all in my lifetime! When you stop to actually consider the vast expanse of the Universe, it makes my 3,260-mile run across America seem like one baby step in comparison to the magnitude of all that we know exists around us.
The radius of the observable universe is estimated to be about 46 billion light years, which according to some sources is about 2.7×1023 miles. My brain cannot even begin to comprehend that distance! Note that the observable universe is just the part of the universe we can see. The universe itself is much larger than that, and many believe that it is infinite.
Regardless of the fact that I've run enough miles to circle the earth a couple of times, it's really not much distance at all when looking at the bigger picture of the Universe!
From Him, Through Him, For Him (Romans 11:36),
Paul J. Staso
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Visit my YouTube channel -- https://www.youtube.com/user/pacetrek
Click on any of the links below to see some of my adventure photos:
- United States in 2006 (3,260 miles solo in 108 days at age 41)
- Montana in 2008 (620 miles solo in 20 days at age 43)
- Alaska in 2009 (500 miles solo in 18 days at age 44)
- Germany in 2010 (500 miles solo in 21 days at age 45)
- The Mojave Desert in 2011 (506 miles solo in 17 days at age 46)
- Various Photos From Mileposts Gone By
- Students Worldwide Who Ran With Me Virtually
- Roadside Sights From My Running Adventures
- Some Cycling Moments From The Past
